# Well, if we really need a "correct" term for the room with the toilet in it... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 29, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026 "2009-05-29T13:57:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/22 "2009-06-02T14:26:56Z")
Yeah, it’s not like we call the place to have sex the “fuckorium”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/23 "2009-06-02T14:46:00Z")
… Wait, we don’t? ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/24 "2009-06-02T15:07:39Z")
Regarding the bordalou: > [@aruvqan](#): > > Not really, catheterizaton is uncomfortable … > > I have used the modern version of one, and other than needing to make sure that you dont drip anything by accident it is better than a standard bedpan … I believe Chez was equivocating on two different definitions of “muff”. Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/25 "2009-06-02T16:19:43Z")
A few that Dex left out. \*House of office \* _Privy_ \*Bog-house (shortened to bog) \* _Smallest room in the house_ ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/26 "2009-06-02T17:13:21Z")
The Australian, I think “dunny” was not mentioned. [http://www.onelook.com/?w=dunny&ls=a](http://www.onelook.com/?w=dunny&ls=a) ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/27 "2009-06-02T18:45:52Z")
Whenever I’ve visited the US, I’ve heard the word “bathroom” used a lot (no mentined in the article). That always struck me as odd, as here the bathroom is very specifically the room with the bath in it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiskr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@Fiskr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiskr)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/28 "2009-06-02T19:09:24Z")
I tried to read the entire article in one sitting, but had to take a break to hit the head. Why is it called a “head”, and why would I wanna hit it anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Fiskr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@Fiskr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiskr)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/29 "2009-06-02T19:13:05Z")
I see that this has already been discussed in the earlier thread. I’m new here and plead ignorance. Cecil is helping, but I’m a difficult case. Please carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/30 "2009-06-02T19:16:00Z")
> [@Fiskr](#): > > I see that this has already been discussed in the earlier thread. I’m new here and plead ignorance. Cecil is helping, but I’m a difficult case. Please carry on. Welcome to the Straight Dope **Fiskr**. I’ve merged your thread with the existing one. No harm done. Gfactor Moderator ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/31 "2009-06-03T16:45:55Z")
There was a piece in Rolling Stone wallago about a visit to Australia. The writer stayed in a hotel that had changed hands. Rather than scrap the really nice “Exchange Hotel” sign, the new guy simply added an “S” to the top; it’s now the “Sexchange Hotel.” He went on to say the folks in Oz seem to have many ways to say vomit. He learned that “go drain the lizard” is “piss,” and that “go a’ snakes” is “first right at the end of the bar.” He didn’t ask any Sheilas what they call the ladies room. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/32 "2009-06-03T17:57:32Z")
Was his name not Bruce? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/33 "2009-06-04T03:32:40Z")
The Thais routinely call it the “water room” (_hong nam_), although in public places it’s also common to see signs directing you to the “toilet” (_suam_). I recall being amused in what was then Czechoslovakia at signs saying “pisser”. Hard to recall, but they must have been using the German word, or I’d not have been able to read it at all. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/34 "2009-06-04T11:26:11Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > A few that Dex left out. > > \*House of office > \* > _Privy_ > > \*Bog-house (shortened to bog) > \* > _Smallest room in the house_ I did actually cover Privy – not in the alphabetic list but in the misc list near the end. And I was NOT trying to provide an exhaustive list; I’m not sure if that’s possible, and even if it is, my staff reports are often criticised for being too long as they are. Maybe someday I’ll do a follow-up with some of the other terms. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/35 "2009-06-04T19:13:57Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The Thais routinely call it the “water room” (_hong nam_), although in public places it’s also common to see signs directing you to the “toilet” (_suam_). In Japanese, it’s usually お手洗い (_otearai_, “hand-washing (place)”) or トイレ (_toire_, short for トイレット _toiretto_, “toilet”). Side note, I was once mildly amused to see a hand-written sign in a corner near Ueno Station: ここで小便するな (_Koko de shonben suru na_, “Don’t piss here.”) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/36 "2009-06-04T19:28:51Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Side note, I was once mildly amused to see a hand-written sign in a corner near Ueno Station: ここで小便するな (_Koko de shonben suru na_, “Don’t piss here.”) I’ve seen a few of these chalked in Thai on buildings in Bangkok. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/37 "2009-06-09T08:28:40Z")
This thread is a few days old, but I want to point out that “pissoir” in French isn’t really a neutral term for a urinal. The most common term is “urinoir”; I would consider “pissoir” vulgar, like “shithouse” in English. But this said, I am currently in Berlin, and I’ve seen a sign (in German and English) asking not to put paper in the “pissoir”. So I guess some people use it, even in writing. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/38 "2009-06-11T23:45:28Z")
Crap-eteria that is all ---
**Author:** ![Other\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Other\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Other_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/39 "2009-06-12T20:53:37Z")
_Waste Depositor_ _Waste Room_ _Depositing Room_ _Doesn’t Smell Like Roses…Room_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/40 "2009-06-12T21:10:30Z")
> [@Other\_Dreams](#): > > _Doesn’t Smell Like Roses…Room_ Hey, speak for yourself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/41 "2009-06-14T05:22:21Z")
We could call it the “Bodily Wastes Disposal Room”, but that might be a bit longwinded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026.md?page=3)